Mass Readings & Missal

Year B. Pentecost Sunday
19 May 2024

INTRODUCTION (Commentator)

Good evening/morning everyone. My name is …………….. and I would like to wish you a warm welcome to our Mass at Holy Spirit Church, Kurri Kurri/ St Joseph’s, Cessnock/ St Francis Xavier’s Abermain.
The priest celebrating with us today is Father James (and assisting him is Deacon Viane.)

The Feast of Pentecost began in Israel as a simple Harvest Festival to celebrate the ‘first fruits’ of the crops at the beginning of summer. Following the resurrection of Jesus, Pentecost strengthened their faith in Him and gave them the courage to proclaim Jesus as God’s chosen one. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and our great Friend, who unites us with each other and with God.

Please stand for our processional hymn:

GREETING
In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.  AMEN
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And with your spirit.

SPRINKLING of the PEOPLE with BAPTISMAL WATER

After the greeting, the Priest stands at his chair and faces the people. With a vessel containing the water to be blessed before him, he calls upon the people to pray in these or similar words:

Dear brothers and sisters, let us humbly beseech the Lord our God to bless this water he has created, which will be sprinkled on us as a memorial of our baptism. May he help us by his grace to remain faithful to the spirit we have received.

And after a brief pause of silence, he continues with his hands joined:

Almighty ever living God, who willed that through water, the fountain of life and the source of purification, every soul should be cleansed and receive the gift of eternal life; be pleased, we pray, to + bless this water, by which we seek protection on this your day, O Lord. Renew the living springs of your grace within us and grant that by this water we may be defended from all ills of spirit and body, and so approach you with hearts made clean and worthy to receive your salvation. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

GLORIA

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to people of good will.

We praise you; we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you,

we give you thanks for your great glory,

Lord God, heavenly King,

O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,

you take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us;

you take away the sins of the world,

receive our prayer;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father,

have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One,

you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God, the Father.   AMEN

COLLECT
Let us pray.

O God, who by the mystery of today's great feast

sanctify your whole Church in every people and nation,

pour out, we pray, the gifts of the Holy Spirit

across the face of the earth

and, with the divine grace that was at work

when the Gospel was first proclaimed,

fill now once more the hearts of believers.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.  AMEN

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

FIRST READING:  Acts 2:1-11
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak different languages.

When Pentecost day came round, the apostles had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. 'Surely' they said 'all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome - Jews and proselytes alike - Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.'

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM   Ps 103:1, 24, 29-31, 34
R. Lord, send out your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.

1.   Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
How many are your works, O Lord!
The earth is full of your riches. (R.)

2.   You take back your spirit, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.  (R.)

3.   May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I find my joy in the Lord.  (R.)

SECOND READING  1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians

In the one Spirit we were all baptised, making one body.

No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.

Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

The word of the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Sequence

Veni, sancte Spiritus

Holy Spirit, Lord of Light,

From the clear celestial height

Thy pure beaming radiance give.

Come, thou Father of the poor,

Come with treasures which endure

Come, thou light of all that live!

Thou, of all consolers best,

Thou, the soul’s delightful guest,

Dost refreshing peace bestow

Thou in toil art comfort sweet

Pleasant coolness in the heat

Solace in the midst of woe.

Light immortal, light divine,

Visit thou these hearts of thine,

And our inmost being fill:

If thou take thy grace away,

Nothing pure in man will stay

All his good is turned to ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew

On our dryness pour thy dew

Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will

Melt the frozen, warm the chill

Guide the steps that go astray.

Thou, on us who evermore

Thee confess and thee adore,

With thy sevenfold gifts descend:

Give us comfort when we die

Give us life with thee on high

Give us joys that never end.

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Alleluia!

GOSPEL
John 15:26-27; 16:12-15

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
The Spirit of truth will guide you into all the truth.

Jesus said to his disciples:

'When the Advocate comes,
whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,
he will be my witness.
And you too will be witnesses,
because you have been with me from the outset.
'I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.'

The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

HOMILY

PROFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in one God,

the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

the Only Begotten Son of God,

born of the Father before all ages.

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation

he came down from heaven,

    (At the words that follow, up to and including and became man, all bow.)

 and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,

 and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,

he suffered death and was buried,

and rose again on the third day

in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins

and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead

and the life of the world to come.   AMEN

UNIVERSAL PRAYER – PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Celebrant: Let us pray to be faithful to the Spirit of truth who dwells
within each of us.

1.   We pray for Pope Francis: That he will continue to guide Your Holy Church in truth and in love through the strength of the Spirit.
(pause) Lord, hear us. All: Lord, hear our prayer.

2.   We pray for leaders of all nations: That the Spirit will open their minds and hearts to see those suffering in the world, especially refugees.
(pause) Lord, hear us. All: Lord, hear our prayer.

3.   We pray for those who work to defend the lives of the unborn, the sick, the infirm, and the aged: That those who defend humanity's inalienable right to life be strengthened by prayer, and that God might reward them for their goodness. (pause)  Lord, hear us. All: Lord, hear our prayer.

4.   We pray for those who have been sealed with the holy spirit that they will live out their spiritual commitment of love and service.
(pause) Lord, hear us. All: Lord, hear our prayer.

5.   We pray that all humanity, through the intercession of Saint Joseph, may be inspired to work wholeheartedly in this world, seeking always to give God glory and be faithful to the duties assigned to us.
(pause) Lord, hear us. All: Lord, hear our prayer.

6.   We pray for all those who have died: That their spirit may live on in our communities and sustain those who grieve their loss. We pray especially for our recently deceased…………and the anniversaries that occur at this time…..
(pause) Lord, hear us.  All: Lord, hear our prayer.

Celebrant:  Gracious God, you send your Spirit upon us to guide us in all things: hear these our prayers that we might one day dwell with you for ever and ever. AMEN

THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS

Grant, we pray, O Lord,

that, as promised by your Son,

the Holy Spirit may reveal to us more abundantly

the hidden mystery of this sacrifice

and graciously lead us into all truth.

Through Christ our Lord.  AMEN

PREFACE

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.

For, bringing your Paschal Mystery to completion,

you bestowed the Holy Spirit today

on those you made your adopted children

by uniting them to your Only Begotten Son.

This same Spirit, as the Church came to birth,

opened to all peoples the knowledge of God

and brought together the many languages of the earth

in profession of the one faith.

Therefore, overcome with paschal joy,

every land, every people exults in your praise

and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts,

sing together the unending hymn of your glory,

as they acclaim:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

THE MYSTERY OF FAITH

We proclaim your Death, O Lord,

and profess your Resurrection

until you come again.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Let us pray.

O God, who bestow heavenly gifts upon your Church,

safeguard, we pray, the grace you have given,

that the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out upon her

may retain all its force

and that this spiritual food

may gain her abundance of eternal redemption.

Through Christ our Lord.  AMEN

DISMISSAL

Go forth, the Mass is ended.

Thanks be to God.